I want to thank everyone who linked up to the last link party. I surpassed my goal with 31 links this week. That is awesome. I appreciate it so much. I want to continue to grow and grow and I can only do that with your help.Link party number 4 will start around 3 pm eastern time, so please come back and link up.Each week it gets harder and harder to pick my favorites of the week especially when more people link up. It was difficult, but here are my favorites.

Monday, January 28, 2013

My mom (Hi mom!) asked me to help come up with a bold new look in her kitchen, dining room and living room. (They kind of all flow together) The first step in my design process is to go online and get some inspiration.The first color combo option that I came up with is Turquoise and Green. I think these colors will go well with the wood floors and oak table and chairs that they have in their house. My mom already mentioned that she might want to do turquoise and I know that she likes this color green.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

I am still hard at work in my kitchen. I wanted to have it done before the end of this month but, I have ran into more problems. I guess the kitchen still wants to resist the transformation. (You can read about the curse of the kitchen here).

I was quite dejected yesterday because of all the complications. But I did however hang these prints above my stove that have been hanging out in the kitchen since after Christmas.

I ordered a cart from Ikea and have no idea when it is suppose to come. As much as I love Ikea, their online ordering is lacking. I haven't heard if they shipped it or not. They charged my card so hopefully I get it soon.I need to finish adding molding to the cabinet doors, install a cabinet above the refrigerator and install glass shelves. Plus, a couple small projects that shouldn't have any complications. (Knock on wood).I am dying to show you the before and after. I am so proud of this transformation. It is by far my favorite room in the house so far.You can find other posts about our kitchen here, here and here. Don't forget about my link party that is going on right now. My goal is to get 30 links this week. Please, link up here.

Thanks again to everyone who linked up this week. This party wasn't as big as the first party, but it was still a great party. Party number 3 starts today in a few hours so please come back to link up what you have been working on. There are so many creative people out there.Without further ado here are my favorite links from party 2.

I want to thank everyone for making my very first link party a success (in my opinion). I wasn't expecting that many people to join. So having 20 links is great.I get so motivated to get things done in my house after seeing what everyone else is working on in their homes. Here are a few of my favorites from my first link party.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Hi guys. I would like to welcome the new followers that signed up because of my very first link party. Thanks for following my little blog.I have been extremely busy this week with personal things and haven't been able to make any more progress on our kitchen. My husband's grandfather passed away Tuesday night. We finally wrapped up the closing of our restaurant and yesterday we drove to Culpeper, Virginia to pick up a car.While in Virginia, I did manage to stop by the Woodbridge Ikea.

If you are new to my blog, you wouldn't know that I am on a mission to visit all of the Ikea's in the US. I have been to 4 now counting the one from yesterday. I was also looking to buy 2 Erslev rugs that my local Ikea in Pittsburgh does not carry. Unfortunately, the Woodbridge Ikea didn't have any left. So I still don't have the rugs that I needed for 2 rooms, but the good news is that the thing that I needed to finish my kitchen I can buy online.

Here are a few rooms that I liked at this Ikea.

Since the kitchen is kind of at a stand still, I thought I would show you a sneak peek at our entry.

I used the Hollywood Square stencil from Royal Design Studio. It was the very first time I have stenciled anything. It isn't perfect if you look closely. But it is good enough for me.

I also made this spoon sunburst mirror after seeing this tutorial by Blue Cedar Lane.

The front door is to left in this picture and the door that goes down to our basement is on the right. (You can see that I painted the trim around each door black)

I still need to put another coat of paint on the front door and paint the floor. I am also going to add decorative hooks to hang coats and umbrellas. It isn't quite done, but it is coming along.

Don't forget that my first link party is still going on here. Also, every Tuesday evening I will be hosting a new party. I hope that the party can continue to grow. It is a lot of fun to see what my followers have been up to in their own houses.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

I am excited to announce that I am going to attempt to host a link party today.

I have really enjoyed participating in other link parties in blog land the past few months, so I thought I would give it a try. I realize it will take some time for the party to catch on. But I really hope some of you will link up.The point of this party is to show off what you have been working on in your home, decor related DIY projects, room transformations, and any other home related decorating.

Some party rules:

*Please follow If It's Not Baroque via GFC

*Please link to a specific post not just your blog

*Please do not link up giveaways, etsy shops or other link parties.

*Please put a link back to my blog

(by using the button above or a text link)

*Please visit some of the other links

Every week, I will pick a few of the links that I like the most and will feature them before the next party.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Here is another simple project that I recently finished for our kitchen. It was very easy and cheap to make.

Here is what you need:

3 8x10 frames (Mine came from Joann Fabric)

Glitter scrapbook paper (Also from Joann Fabric)

Plastic utensils or regular utensil that are spray painted white

(I ended up using regular utensils that I bought at Walmart)

Hot glue gun & Glue

Mod Podge (not pictured)

Start out by cutting your scrapbook paper to fit your frame. I used the insert they put in the frames as a template.

On the cardboard backing of the frame, Mod Podge the scrapbook paper to the inside (the part where the picture sits in front of).

Once the paper is dry, put the frames together and layout your utensils in a pattern that you like. (Note, the glass for the frame isn't needed so you can discard it or keep it for a future project)

When you are satisfied with the spacing and pattern of the utensils, go ahead and hot glue them into place. When they dry, they are ready to hang.

Here are the 3 that I made hanging on the other side of our soffit above our cabinets. You can find out about the Yummy string art here. I hung 2 photographs that I took of food on the soffit too.

I am still working on the kitchen. I have to make an impromptu trip to another Ikea since I found out that our small Ikea doesn't carry something that I needed for my kitchen. So that will delay my kitchen reveal unfortunately.

The good news is that I bought all the rest of the furniture I needed for my office/craft room a couple of days ago. I will be spending all day today putting together Expedit's and Billy's. A lot of progress will be made on that room after today.